Dissidia: The Monster Within
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: The first story of nine in my Dissidia story. The beginning of Megiddo's FFVIII story. He travel's with Lightning Final Fantasy XIII , unknowingly being watched from the shadows... Please Review! Kefka, Exdeath, and others involved! Discontinued.
1. Partners

_Battles rage upon the realm…the warriors of the gods fight for their deities, for victory, and themselves. The end seems to be far off, yet they still fight for an end to the struggle. One man wishes to end the fighting, but he must fight to end the battle within himself as well..._

**The Monster Within**

In the wasteland of floating rocks and lifeless rocky plains, two warriors were walking along. One was a female, around twenty years old with strawberry blonde hair and in Sanctum military uniform in a skirt. The other was a male, wore black denim pants and a dark blue denim jacket. He had short black hair and dark red eyes, he also wore black leather gloves on his hands. His clothes were not as proper as the woman's, as they had many cuts and holes.

But that was from constant fighting.

"We failed...didn't we?" The woman asked, her voice full of disappointment.

Megiddo stopped and looked at Lightning, "We didn't fail anything. Not Cosmos, not our allies, not this war. Just a setback."

Lightning thought otherwise, "That last fight with Chaos--its all his fault for it. That man from before--"

"Pessimism leads to demoralization. Think positive Lightning," Megiddo said, obviously not wanting to hear her complaining. The battle between the forces of Chaos and Cosmos raged as they always had. This time, the two gods sent a majority of their forces after each other on the same plain Megiddo and Lightning were on. Culminating in a large-scale battle, neither force could gain an advantage. Megiddo saw that. So did Lightning, and everyone was scattered because of it.

But even if Lightning thought with doubt, Megiddo was the one who had to keep their spirits up. A born soldier, he had taught himself to think positive in any situation. Otherwise, doubt and despair could cloud your mind in a fight, leading to certain death. He began walking again, telling the woman to keep up, lest she gets left behind.

'How can he act like this will all work out in the end?" Lightning thought, jogging to catch-up to Megiddo. 'Maybe...I should learn to try...it could help our situation..'

Unlike Cosmos' forces, the forces of Chaos were well aware of the result of the last fight between them and the warriors of Cosmos. And though most of them would never admit it, they had been dealt a draw. One of the warriors that didn't really care was a creature in cyan colored armor named Exdeath. The result mattered little to the warlock, as he would have many more opportunities to destroy the forces of Cosmos. But he knew very well that going against them on his own would be suicidal. Thus, he enlisted the help of someone from Chaos.

The man he offered his help was in a place called Cerberus Catacombs. The place was a giant hall similar to the Chaos Shrine, but it was dark and lit with torches along the wall. On the walls were glyphs, depicting a story of death and hell. A large circular gate was up against the wall, the space in it was glowing a dark violet. A man was standing in front of it. He was wearing a dark slate colored leather overcoat that reached his ankle on his left side, and it was shorter on his right side. His smooth black hair was slick and combed back. The man turned, hearing the heavy footsteps of the destroyer approach him.

"The great master of the Void has come to see me?" The man said, placing his hands on his hips, and speaking in a dry English accent.

Exdeath didn't like the attitude, but he could ignore it, "Xian, you were missing at the Emperor's meeting."

I could care less about what that egotistical man would want to say. I have a plan of my own. I just can't do it alone."

"Then you're in luck. I have been rather bored of the petty schemes the other warriors have in mind. I have more interest in other things," Exdeath replied.

Xian walked away from the portal in front of him, "Like your Void?"

"Hahaha! Sly one, but not this time. My interest this time is what you have in mind," Exdeath stood, stoic and unnerving.

Xian walked up to him. 'This man has no comparison in terms of power. I might as well let him into the loop...he could be useful.' "Alright...It involves this one man named Megiddo--"


	2. The Rift

The Rift...one of the various shards from the many worlds the gods had taken to build the world, was a series of door less buildings and castle-like spires. The top of the buildings had grass-like ground, a mere copycat of a memory. The 'sky' around them was bright blue and wisps of clouds could be seen. Also were various 'gates' to other shards in the world, far out of reach to those who wanted to leave the area.

Megiddo and Lightning came into this place a moment before now. The two soldiers were still unsure where they were going, but as long as they kept moving, they would be safe. At least, that was what Lightning thought. The woman warrior kept a calm hand on her weapon; a gun-sword called Blaze Edge, and walked beside her partner. "So, what should we be doing?"

The male warrior turned his head to her, "My first thought…would be to get in touch with our comrades. No matter how strong the two of us are together, we stand little chance by ourselves in the midst of unknown territory."

'Soldier talk, just the way I like it,' Lightning thought. Straightforward, no sweet talk, no 'I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go', and telling the truth. She liked it that way. That was what she had in common with this man, which is why she stuck with him after everything that has happened so far. Normally, she would be alone, but all her experience in being alone nearly got her killed. Then, Megiddo saved her one-day, and she realized that she needed his help. It was a choice made out of necessity rather than preference.

Megiddo was as calm as he ever had been up to that point; however, something was beginning to make him a bit edgy. Ever since the failed attack on Chaos many days ago, the forces of discord had, by all means, more than enough opportunities to overwhelm the warriors of Cosmos. Why had they not attacked? Were they just letting them go on and catch them off guard? Or…was it simply to wait for another attack?

These thoughts ran through the man's mind, forcing him to stop walking to collect himself. Lightning noticed this and stopped as well. Megiddo put a hand to his chin, and saw Lightning shiver. "You okay?"

"Just got a slight chill—"

The sky went darker at that moment, like a storm-front was coming. But that would be strange. Megiddo looked around the area, noticing many small black clouds were forming around the area. Megiddo and Lightning readied their weapons, because both of them knew what was coming next: manikins.

Abominations created from darkness, used by Chaos's forces as troops to do their bidding. A constant thorn in the sides of harmony, the manikins were essentially crystal like copies of the previous warriors that had fought in the war. They didn't have any concept of morale or mercy, or any compassion for their fellow manikins. They could keep on fighting until they were completely dismembered, and they could still go on.

Megiddo and Lightning backed up against the wall of the center castle, weapons out and ready. "Seems like they finally caught on to us," Megiddo said, believing now that chaos was making his move. Lightning didn't say anything; instead, she raised Blaze Edge and turned the safety off.

The manikins started to form on the square beyond the bridge in front of them, about a half dozen gold manikins slowly walking towards them. They were in no hurry to fight, and that wasn't reluctance. They had nothing to be afraid of. But Megiddo made the first move, using a Fire spell shot from his hand; the ball of flame sped across the bridge in super speed and hit one of the manikins. It exploded into many pieces, and the shards went into the ones surrounding it. Embedded with shards of their lost comrade, the manikins merely staggered before they started to run!

The manikins quickly made their way to the two warriors, and that's when all hell broke loose. Megiddo, swinging his two large swords, cut three of the manikins in half. Lighting was more far ranged. Before they were within feet of her, she had shot one through the throat making it lose its head and, extending the blade of the gun, slashed the last one right down the middle, in which it turned to a pile of dust at her feet.

"Gah!"

Lightning grabbed her arm as a blade cut her upper right arm. She kicked away her attacker. The thing landed on its back at her feet, but she decapitated it before it could reach its feet again.

She went a few feet further and did a spin kick to another's head, sending it flying over the edge and into oblivion. Three more popped up next to her. 'This is getting complicated.' Lightning backed-up a few feet, and snapped her fingers. A wave of dark purple electric energy overflowed her. The first manikin lunged forward, but the woman jumped over it. She didn't land though, because her Gravity Bomb kept her in the air. This caught her enemies totally off guard. She hung upside down, slicing the head off the first manikin, and then adjusted the Bomb device to make her land on her feet on the ground.

Another manikin made a charge from behind Lightning. But she had it well scouted, doing a reverse-rolling spin kick, knocking her foe into the other right behind it.

Her partner also had his hands full. Megiddo was slicing and dicing every enemy that he came across him with his big swords. The two swords he was using were big, long bladed weapons that most men would use both hands with, but because of his stature, Megiddo was able to use them with one hand and with ease. Swinging them like they were short swords, the warrior began blocking incoming attacks with the blade in his left hand and counter-attacked with the one in his right hand.

Another manikin lifted his large sword over its head, ready to strike down on the unsuspecting Megiddo--but like Lightning, Megiddo had figured out what was going on. He rolled to the side in a combat-dodge roll away from the foe he was engaged on and broke away. The strike that was intended for him struck the manikin in front of him, cutting off it's left arm. The shield it was holding vanished in a cloud of crystallized dust. No blood was spilt of course.

Megiddo quickly struck down the manikin behind him, slashing it through the gut, and watching it fall to the floor. Four more spontaneously formed in front of him, forcing the warrior to back up. Soon, he found himself back to back with Lightning. The female warrior was, besides little nicks and cuts on her body and clothes, was all right. But the situation was starting to look bleak for the light warriors. At least two-dozen manikins, who were taking their sweet time as if they were playing with their prey, surrounded them and they had little place to go.

Megiddo looked up; he saw a ledge between two castle spires. He was certain that there was flat ground up there; he had gotten a good view of the place when he and Lightning had entered the area. 'If we can just get up there, I think we'll have a better chance than we have down here...' But getting up there would require Lightning to go first.

"Tactical evasion."

Lightning snapped out of her trance, "Where to?"

"Up."

Lightning looked up, guessing why they were heading there, but she didn't really care where they went as long as it was a better place than where they were now.

"Got it."

Megiddo nodded, then he stabbed his large sword into the ground, causing a firewall to appear, making the manikins back off from surprise. Setting his small sword on the ground, Megiddo got on a knee and put his hands together for Lightning.

'Time to jump,' Lightning thought, taking the step, and then Megiddo sent her flying straight up with ease. Lightning went up at a high rate of speed; she was up in the air for a matter of seconds before she snapped her fingers on her left hand. The same Gravity field went over her body, making her slow down as she got to the 'center island'. She did a flip in the air before landing on the ground safely. She turned around, waiting for Megiddo. A large explosion went off, and the Sanctum woman saw crystal parts flying all over the place. She put a hand up to cover her face from the debris, and when she put it down she saw Megiddo do a jump up onto the island she was on. He was covered in black and red flames, which slowly disappeared as he stood up and brushed his jacket off.

Lightning raised her gun-sword again and the two soldiers made their way to the center of the island. Megiddo raised his swords again, big one in his right hand, small one in his left. They waited for what seemed like forever, but the manikins didn't come. 'What are they up to now?' Megiddo thought. Another trap?

Believing the situation had gone down a bit in terms of urgency, Megiddo looked at his partner, and then she looked at him, he nodded. The Sanctum soldier slowly lowered her weapon and took a few steps forward to survey her surroundings. The fact that the area was quiet and the manikins are gone, just made her think this was a set-up. Megiddo however, came to the conclusion that the manikins couldn't get the upper hand and retreated to fight another time. He wasn't against that sort of strategy, even if it seemed sort of cowardly to others.

A voice echoed from out of nowhere, "Very impressive..."

Megiddo and Lightning looked around, then looked at each other, nodded, and readied their weapons again. A flash of dark light came from in front of them, and out stepped Exdeath. The big blue warlock was holding his sword, a powerful aura emitting off of him. Megiddo felt the power, but simply blocked it from his mind.

The Chaos warrior looked at them, "You two are quite skilled together. Functioning as a single unit to take down a squad of my manikins."

"Those were yours?" Lightning said.

"Correct, but it seems that now even the manikins could make you break a sweat, so, I guess I'll have to show you a proper battle!"

Megiddo and Lightning raised their weapons at their adversary, and readied themselves for the fight that was to come.


	3. Destroyer

Exdeath didn't wait long to make a move. His Reverse Polarity, a teleportation/attack spell made the move. The white disc went right past the two heroes to right behind them. Exdeath reappeared, and Megiddo was thrown back by the contact with the disc. Lightning, with her Blaze Edge, swung at Exdeath, only for him to block with his sword. He released a large hurricane like shield that sent her flying when it made contact.

The male soldier rebounded, striking Exdeath around the neck (if he had one) with a kick from his left leg. Exdeath was sent back quite a few feet; surprised at the strength the mortal had shown.

Megiddo continued the assault. Using his fists, blades, and kicks, he went at Exdeath. The warlock took the blows without flinching. This surprised Megiddo, and he left himself open, long enough for Exdeath to swing his sword twice, the blows connecting and sending Megiddo into one of the castle spires in the corner. He left a bid hole in it, from the force from the blow he had taken.

Lightning quickly recovered, using her Gravity Bomb, and was hovering upside down as much as twenty feet in the air. She was firing her gun at a fast rate, bombarding her foe with magical bullets before she went back to the ground again. Exdeath however, had blocked that attack too, and countered by two large white spheres that hit Lightning with wretched speed. She was caught off-guard, and she tumbled off the ledge. She managed to grab the edge with her left hand, without falling.

Exdeath wallowed in triumph. He had pictured that this 'fight' would be a lot more difficult. Xian had told him to be careful, because of Megiddo, but he had been taken out—

But as the confident warlock turned away, the soldier he had thought he had 'beaten' was getting up from his grave. Exdeath saw this, and was really surprised. No one hit with that kind of force was supposed to be standing after what Megiddo had gone through. And from what he looked like, bloodied and batter, a huge gash across his left eye, he should be down for the count.

Megiddo stood, 'Dammit...vision's starting to get blurry...' He took a step forward, legs shaking slightly, the blood from the wound on his eye making its way down his temple and cheek. Exdeath was impressed; his foe had taken a direct blow from his weapon and was still upright. "It seems I underestimated you."

Lightning, hanging onto the ledge, tried to pull herself up, but her strength was waning. She tried to use her Gravity Bomber, however, the device had been damaged by Exdeath, rendering it useless. She managed to get herself up, but unable to get from her predicament as she saw her partner struggle to stay on her feet.

Exdeath swung his sword at Megiddo. The soldier tried to raise his blades, but Exdeath struck him way too fast. His swords were knocked out of his hands, and he was sent back into the castle spire with a loud CRASH. As the warlock laughed in his mockery of his foe, Lightning struggled to maintain herself. Exdeath felt now that he should stop playing with them and finish them off. Megiddo, yet again, struggled out of his hold, a little more beat up than before. Something was different about him though...as he staggered out, some sort of flame was started to cover his body...

Exdeath took notice of this, "What...?" Megiddo's body shook with a seemingly uncontrollable rage, the flames started to go black and red, his fists clenched tight. Exdeath, although driven by darkness and very powerful, was beginning to have a little bit of hesitation right now. But he was caught by the eyes, Megiddo's eyes were glowing bright yellow, like a devil.

Exdeath backed away as Megiddo lifted his arms, which were looking as if they were on fire. The warlock, out of desperation, raised a red shield, his sword slowly spinning to keep it up. Megiddo reached both arms out towards Exdeath, and what happened next was brutal. Concentrating all his energy into his hands, the male soldier fired two snake like fire creatures made entirely out of flames come out of his hands and went straight at Exdeath. The heads of these 'snakes' were as large as Lightning was. Exdeath's shield felt like it had been hit by a meteor. The force made the world seemingly shake.

Exdeath, however, was gone. Seemingly without a trace. The top of the castle area was pitch-black and charred from fire. Megiddo fell to his knees, having used most of his energy in that attack. Lightning, who quickly saw the blast, jumped down from her ledge and avoided being turned into burnt toast. She climbed back up the hard way, and made her way over to her partner.


	4. The Animal I Am

Lightning ran to Megiddo. On his hands and knees, catching his breath, and shaking from the force of the Inferno attack, Megiddo's mind was trying to regain its composure. 'The woman tried to asses his state of health, her mind still fixated on what had just transpired 'such remarkable, yet destructive power....' The pink haired woman was still trying to comprehend how he was able to do what he just did.

"Awesome, wouldn't you think?" A voice came out of nowhere. Lightning looked over to where Exdeath had once stood, but instead of the warlock, there stood a man Lightning had never seen before. A man with combed back slick black hair and wearing a dark grey over coat. The right side of the coat was only hip length while the left side was ankle length, right down to the dark grey boots. The overcoat was open, revealing a black shirt underneath, and on the shoulders of the coat were black jackal head motifs with a Goth style. The coat was lined with dark red lining. He also wore black gloves with spikes on the knuckles.

Megiddo tried to stand, and Lightning helped him up to his feet. The man gave a small chuckle and spoke in a dry English accent, "Can't even stand on your own, eh Megiddo?"

The battle weary soldier glared, "Xian..."

Xian took a few steps forward, towards the heroes, a certain swagger in his walk, and kicking up the ashes from the Inferno attack under his feet. "How did it feel, letting it all out, I mean? I'd picture all that rage in you is something you'd desperately would want out, before it would hurt you."

Lightning didn't know what he was talking about, but that wasn't important to her at the moment. "You with Chaos?"

Xian stopped, "What makes you ask that?"

Lightning stood, "You seem the type to hang around with his group."

The man clapped his hands in applause, "Bravo, little girl. You won the prize."

Megiddo's swords appeared in his hands again, "You're here to kill us, Xian. Don't waste our time by chatting."

Xian zipped up his coat, taking his sweet time, and slightly annoyed with Megiddo already. "Ever the direct man, aren't you..."

A swirl of black and grey flames appeared in his right hand. Turning at high speeds, the flames disappeared to reveal a crude and exotic chakram. The four blades, sharp and curved, were double the size of Megiddo's sword's blades, and there were smaller blades between the main ones.

Both warriors eyed their adversary, but before they could raise their blades, Xian was directly in front of them. Lightning tried a kick to his head, but he blocked it with his left arm, shoved her away, and knocked Megiddo off the island with a kick of his own. The man was sent flying back down, onto the bridge where they entered the area. He failed to land on his feet, instead landing hard on his back, knocking the air out of his body.

Lightning, slightly overcome with shock, snapped her back into concentration. That didn't last long. Xian was faster than she would have ever imagined, and she soon found out how much of an advantage he had. He sent a right hand into her stomach, but she sucked it up, gave a jab with her right hand, and gave a kick to the back of his left knee. He dropped to one knee, but he used that opportunity to deliver a huge uppercut punch to Lightning's chin. The resulting force made her crash against the spire. As soon as she regained her breath, Xian used his chakram like a shield, pressing her against the large concrete spire. He stared into Lightning's eyes, a vile smile on his face. She struggled, but his strength was too much for her in this predicament.

Xian quickly knocked Lightning's gun-sword out of her hand and pressed his weapon against her, making it hard for the female warrior to breath. But that was the least of her worries. Megiddo was out, probably knocked out, and she was at Xian's mercy. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't shake him off. He was pressing against her, and she was trapped. At his mercy...

He grabbed Lightning's chin in his hand. He forced her to look straight at him, and he smiled, "Such a pretty face--" He moved in until his face was inches from hers, "Too bad I have to hurt you."

Lightning, with a rush of pure adrenaline, mustered all her strength to shove him back. While this only made him stagger a few feet back, it allowed her to escape and retrieve her weapon. Xian merely laughed, and threw his chakram at her. Lightning ran out of its way, but it followed her. She tried to outrun it, jumping over a corner spire, and it was like a magnet, striking the cobblestone structure. she stuck the blade through a thin crack between two cobblestones, Lightning was sitting on her gun-sword.

A loud explosion destroyed the spire, Lightning had managed to get away from it, but with many nicks and scratches to her skin and clothes. Xian saw the spire ruins fall out of sight, and he chuckled, "I used too much."

Lightning landed on the ground below, then had to move quickly to avoid the debris falling on her. She looked around, even if the features were similar, and she knew that this was where Megiddo had fallen off the island. Worry came across the woman's face as she couldn't see him anywhere, 'Megiddo...' She ran over to the spot between the two spires above, the same area where he was before he was kicked off, but she still didn't see him. She bent down to see it there were any traces, traces that were easier to see up close. And she did find something: a small pool of blood, and a trail that led nowhere.

The woman looked down at the ground and her eyes scanned the trail of blood that led away, to an edge, and below that was an endless blue-sky abyss.

swi-swi-swi-swi--!

Lightning did a back flip, and jumped off the landmass she was on, but she was able to grab hold of the edge with her left hand. Dragging herself up, while curing her lack of attention to her surroundings, she got back to her feet, and Xian stood a few yards away.

The chakram that nearly hit Lightning before came back to the man. Using his skill, he was able to grab it without getting cut. He placed it on an attachment on his left arm, and Lightning now realized that the chakram was actually a shield, as well as a pinwheel weapon. "Multiple armaments in one. You like?" Xian asked, his accent getting on Lightning's nerves. He had such a sophisticated yet arrogant attitude, must be one of the reasons Megiddo didn't like him.

"Why would you ask me that?" Lightning raised her weapon at him.

Xian got into some sort of fighting stance that was foreign to Lightning, karate-like, with his left arm out and his right arm back and his knees bent at an angle, "Hard as it may seem, Lightning, all three of us have something in common."

"Soldiers, that's what we have in common. But, where I come from, I am a well respected monster, and you are, to date, NOT," he said, a grin most befitting his arrogance.

Lightning couldn't stand him, "I don't think one who preys on the weak should be called respected. You only attack after you sent one of your comrades to soften us up--"

Xian cut her off, "That was the plan."

"I don't like to admit it at times, but I could never take you both on at full strength, even if I had an army of manikins by my side. So, I asked Exdeath to be the front man, and he saw nothing wrong with it," Xian said.

'He led him to his death? Just like that?!'

"That's a despicable act, using others to--"

Lightning was again cut off mid-sentence, "Despicable yes, but effective none the less." Again, he smiled, this time a set of fangs could be seen in his set of teeth.

Xian realized that something was up, and spun around, and his weapon immediately clashed with Megiddo's big sword! "You live!"

The woman had a smile on her face when she saw Megiddo. 'He's alive!'

Xian wasn't surprised though. He knew Megiddo well, and that blow he took earlier would never be able to kill him. In fact, he wanted to get to know Lightning a little better, but as fate always had a saying in his activities, his 'opposite' had to interfere.

The sword and the pinwheel shook from the forces behind them. Megiddo, though he had lost a great deal of energy in the battle against Exdeath, was still holding on strongly to his weapon. And even though he was physically bigger and more than likely stronger than Xian, his enemy had something that could make that strength advantage go away in an instant.

Lightning wasted no time. She turned on her Gravity Bomber, using what energy it had left, and attempted to kick Xian in the back. But he knew it was coming, and relinquished his standoff with Megiddo, and jumped over him. Megiddo avoided Lightning by dive rolling forward, just missing the heels of her boots. Xian jumped up onto the wall and stuck to it like a spider as Lightning made a large impact zone where she hit. Standing on the wall as well, Lightning and Xian exchanged blows with their weapons, with Lightning aiming high and constantly moving, and Xian delivering the heavy blows to her weapon.

Megiddo, when he saw an opening, used his Firaga spells from his Draw Magic arsenal and threw them at Xian. But Xian's speed was faster than the spells, and he was able to dodge them easily. Lightning also had to avoid being hit by the spells, and she eventually moved up to the top island, where the fight had originally began.

Her partner followed by taking a large leap, landing on the scorched earth and kicking up some ashes as he and Lightning got ready again. Xian, still with a sly grin on his face and yellow eyes glowing brighter, said, "Time to end this farce."

He raised both arms, and a black mist surrounded them all. The sky turned black and purple, and three sets of yellow eyes appeared over Xian, and soon, the form of a three-headed beast the size of a truck appeared next to him. Dog heads, fur that was similar to Xian's jacket, howled so loud that the echo seemed to go on forever. It growled, and seemed ready to lunge Lightning didn't know what to make of it, but Megiddo did.

"Cerberus--!"

"Sick'em."

Cerberus gave a short howl, and a bright light started to come out of the mouths. Lightning started to feel a great amount of heat emitting from Cerberus, and soon began to back up with Megiddo. The man however, had other ideas. Grabbing Lightning's arm, he ran to the edge and jumped off just as the large laser fired.

They both fell, but never hit the ground, as a bright white light engulfed them.

Xian and Cerberus moved to the edge, but didn't see either of their foes on the ground. The Cerberus head closest to him looked at him in a disappointed way, and he scratched the area around its ear, "We'll get them next time."

A small sound, 'boink, boink, boink,' was heard behind them and Cerberus did a spin and a loud growl. Xian turned, seeing a jester figure approaching, skipping ridiculously, "What is it?"

Kefka skipped up to him, "What? No 'hello' for Kefka? Disrespectful brat."

"I don't think you came here to just say hello, Kefka," Xian replied, then turned to Cerberus. "Stand down." The dog responded by sitting down, but remained attentive. Kefka looked at the large canine, and reached t pet it, but nearly had his hand bitten off. He took a step back, then broke out laughing, "HAHAHA, I HATE animals!"

"You hate everything."

"Of course I do! And I take it you hate things too, like...those who are useless, partiers, ugly girls--"

"Being with a clown for any reason is one of the top things I hate." Xian wasn't afraid to show his contempt for Kefka. The bizarre Court Mage was never of any use, and to make matters worse, Kefka was one of those who liked to see things end in a painful and otherwise merciless manner.

A small amount of mumbling could be heard under Kefka's breath, and he seemed to ignore Xian's last words, "What happened to the two chickens? You let them go?"

'Chickens?' "You'd compare Megiddo and Lightning to chickens?"

"Why not? That's what I think of those who would rather quell chaos than CAUSE chaos. Cowards, imbeciles, those who fall so low as to want 'peace' are no better than the dirt on my boots!" He turned to Xian, "By the way, would you want some assistance?"

The change in Kefka's tone surprised Xian for a moment, then he said, "You? Help me? Why?"

The clown floated in mid air and acted as if he was trying to sleep on a sofa, "I've been bored as of late, and since no one wants to play, I figured I'd go and bother you for awhile. Maybe we could cause death, destruction, and some malice towards all--"

Xian shook his head, "I have a clear plotline in this story, one that doesn't include you."

"But I promised her that I would let her play--!"

Xian turned to the clown, seeing him on his knees, acting as if the emotionless jester could cry at all, and said, "Who is this she?"


	5. Order's Sanctuary

The light that had taken Lightning and Megiddo had saved them. Blinding them for a few seconds, Lightning found herself in the middle of a water area. Clouds were white and high, a light mist was around, and the air was cold. She turned her attention to her partner, who was gritting his teeth together to keep from showing any pain.

Megiddo was drifting in-between blacking out and wondering if he was even alive at all. Blood was coming out of all the wounds he suffered in the last fight with Xian, and Lightning was trying to patch him up, since she was in better physical shape than he was at the moment.

And Lightning herself had noticed something she hadn't before. His back was severely burned. From what she wasn't sure, but from the looks of it, it was from something big. Megiddo's head was bobbing all over slowly, and Lightning grabbed both sides of his face to steady him, "Listen to me. You have to stay conscious here--"

Megiddo looked directly into her eyes, "Affirmative, Lightning..."

The woman gave a short smile, then went to check on his back. "Do you think Cerberus' attack caught you as we fell?"

Megiddo nodded, "Just by a hair though. If I had not grabbed you when I did and jumped, we wouldn't be here right now."

"If that light hadn't saved us, we would have fallen to our death--" Lightning had to look away as a bright white light flashed near them. Moving her arm from in front of her eyes, she saw a familiar woman, the Goddess of Harmony, Cosmos.

Megiddo and Lightning looked at the deity, the same one who had summoned them to the world to save it, and said nothing.

The usual aura surrounding the goddess gave a warm feeling to Lightning, sending a slight shiver up her spine. She had the sudden impulse to stand, somewhat mesmerized by the superior power. Megiddo, however, dragged himself up with her help, and was able to stand, even if his back was burnt badly and he was bleeding even worse.

Lightning, keeping Megiddo balanced, stood before the goddess, "Cosmos...?"

The male soldier tried to balance himself, an issue of pride, a small one, and stood on his own, "Your light saved us?"

The deity nodded, "Yes. I feared that...had I not saved you when I did, both of you would have perished..."

Megiddo sat down slowly, his back in severe pain, but he did nothing to show that pain, "Good thing you did then...otherwise we'd both be barbeque."

Lightning sat down next to him, "But we still got beaten, badly."

Cosmos shook her head slowly, "You did what you could, and I am grateful to you both for it." she walked over to them, and waved her hand over them.

This action caused some sort of dust to fall from the goddess' hand, but that dust disappeared before it touched the two warriors. The Curaga spell immediately began its work. A warm, relaxing sensation overcame them both, and rejuvenating their bodies and quickly healing their wounds. Lightning felt a sudden rush in her body and Megiddo had a similar effect go through him.

The Goddess went to her throne and slowly sat down, her eyes not leaving her two champions. The curative spell had done more than heal their wounds, it fixed them up as well, making it seem as though they looked brand new. Clothing that was torn or burned was fixed, and their weapons looked as if a blacksmith had returned them to fighting form.

But, there was a small side effect that neither of them expected. Lightning discovered that, while the spell healed her wounds, she felt so tired. She covered her mouth with her hand in a great yawn. Megiddo felt the same, of course, but he was nearly out of it already from the fight. Cosmos watched them start to drift, and looked away, 'Sleep well...' and she vanished in a swift flash of light.

Lightning fell asleep soon after Cosmos left, and Megiddo soon followed, both falling into a slumber as soft as the water flowed around the throne...

Meanwhile...

Xian and Kefka had returned to the Cerberus Catacombs, and Xian was feeling a bit anxious. Ever since Kefka had mentioned this 'she' back at the Rift, he was feeling eager to meet this woman. Kefka, however, would not tell him her name, saying it will be a 'DEElightful' surprise. And Xian didn't really like surprises, and had not spoken a word since he returned to the Catacombs.

Kefka was mumbling incoherently, something he had been doing ever since he came to the catacombs, and he seemed to admire the place as well, saying it was a 'wonderfully awful piece of property', saying weird things like that. Xian had wondered more than once if he had lost his marbles, or chucked them himself before this war.

This woman...who is she Kefka?"

The clown gave a wink, "Someone as lecherous as you could come to like..." He followed his words up with a laugh, loving how he was messing with the man.

And a portal appeared, a black one that some of the forces of Chaos would use between areas for travel. Out stepped a figure, a woman. Thin and gorgeous figure, and had long platinum blond hair that was down to her waist. She wore a white dress shirt that was loose, the sleeves were folded up past the elbows, and the shirt itself was only buttoned in the middle, leaving her stomach and cleavage exposed. The shirt was tight to where Xian could see her bra, and it was a distraction for a woman so voluptuous.

She was a young woman named Saqura, and she wasn't at all happy with what she was doing. 'Do what I always do...run errands,' she thought to herself. And this particular errand was with one of her least favorite people. Xian sat with his legs crossed, and a sly smile on his face. The way he motioned for her to come to him made her sick. But if she could get what she wanted out of him, then she would put up with it long enough to get it.

Saqura walked, her high heels clicking against the cobblestone floor, and soon stood in front of the man, Kefka giving a friendly wave. The woman shook her head at the clown, turning her attention to Xian.

Xian decided to act all nice and such to this lovely looking lady, he stood and kissed her hand, "And you are?"

Saqura pulled her hand away from him, "Saqura. And you're Xavier?"

The smile faded from Xian's face, "I'd rather you do not use my real name, please."

The woman had somehow touched a nerve, but that didn't affect her in her standing, "Forgive me, but I was being formal. I'm here on behalf of Azrael."

Xian turned around and walked up the few steps to the defunct portal, the Angel of Death's name making him feel uncomfortable all of a sudden, "And what does he want?"

Kefka stood and danced around Saqura, and the woman, though annoyed, let it go. "He wants to know if you have seen the 'Holy' woman."

'Why in the world would he send Saqura for a simple thing like that?' Xian thought that Azrael, for all the power he had and fear generated by that same power, was too concerned about the woman he wanted to destroy badly. "I haven't."

Saqura turned her head away, 'just as I had thought. But now that that is over--'

Xian was then in front of her, holding her chin up to where she was looking at his face, he was smiling again, "why are you associated with Azrael? You'd have a more enjoyable time with me."

The woman's expression was one of annoyance, but that soon changed when she felt a hand on her left thigh. It was rubbing her, and she could feel it through the fabric of her tight black pants.

Saqura decided to let him know what she thought of his feeling her up. She ran her right hand up his stomach, then his chest, and finally found his cheek. She gave him a small smile, "You like that?"

Xian gave her a squeeze on the thigh, and Saqura moved her hand to the back of his neck, "Well, enjoy a once in the lifetime opportunity--" She pressed her thumb, which had a sharp finger nail, it dug into his skin, right where his jugular vein was. Xian gave a squeal and dropped to a knee.

"Because you'll never get another chance--" She released him, but not before sending her knee into his gut. Xian fell down a few steps, holding his mid-section, gasping for air, and stunned at what just happened. He wasn't just angry, but he was even more shocked at how strong she was. She brought him down in just two moves, not even Megiddo could do that!

Saqura smiled at her deed, not feeling an ounce of regret, and went back down the stairs. Kefka was more than amused, he had seen this coming, but it was even more amusing then even he had imagined. He gave off his usual cackle, "The mighty lion was own by a house cat!"

Saqura turned to Kefka, giving him an icy glare. The clown stepped back a bit, "so sorry ma'am."

"You're coming with me," Saqura said, walking towards the exit, her air flowing in the light breeze. Kefka, not knowing what she was talking about, followed anyway.

"eh...may I ask where we are going?"

Saqura stopped, "I'm not staying around him. Besides, you want to have fun? I think it's time we both have some entertainment." She saw the look of sheer delight on the clown's make-up face.

"Lead the way..."

As the two left the catacombs, Xian gathered himself, and decided, "I shall have my own fun..."


	6. Certain Secrets

In a world where battle is constant, in the Order's Sanctuary there was respite from the fighting. It was darker than earlier, because Cosmos was not there, but it was still the safest place in the world. Lightning and Megiddo slept, resting from a string of difficult battles they had endured together earlier. The female warrior, Lightning, was fast asleep with her head leaning against her comrade Megiddo's shoulder. The man was still groggy from the Curaga spell the Goddess of Harmony had used to heal them, yet he felt rejuvenated. His wounds were healed, and even his clothes were back to normal. He needed to stretch badly, before his muscles started to ache from inactivity. However, he didn't want to wake Lightning, not yet.

Eventually, though, the urge to get moving again became too overwhelming for Megiddo. He gently shook Lightning's shoulder, saying her name to aid with the waking process.

She groaned a bit, but she did wake up. Once she lifted her head off his shoulder, Megiddo stood up and did a stretch for seemingly every muscle in his body, and did that feel refreshing. 'Seems like the spell did wonders...'

Lightning stood and stretched out her legs, fixing the various accessories she was wearing along her waist. She also fixed her vest and other things, most importantly her weapon Blaze-Edge.

Megiddo turned to Lightning, who was doing some exercises with her weapon. The weapon his friend was using reminded him of a weapon a comrade of his used back at his home world.

Megiddo went over and examined the weapon, his eyes going over the entire object. Lightning saw this and she handed the weapon to him, an action made out of curiosity and a hidden motive. The man took the weapon by the handle, and mimicked his friend's exercises move for move.

She was impressed, "That's a world class weapon, Megiddo. You handled it with ease."

The male soldier shook his head, handing her the weapon by the handle, "Movement memorization."

She understood, "You basically copied my movements just now?"

Megiddo shook his head again, "And during the battles we took part in together."

"You're extremely good at that sort of skill then, to fight and watch me at the same time."

Megiddo put his hands in the pockets of his pants, "Only when I had the chance."

"You do the same for Xian?"

Megiddo turned his head away from her, as if the question offended him. Lightning seemed to figure the two knew each other to an extent, since they had a verbal quarrel when they fought in the Rift the day before.

Xian's a class all on his own, but his arrogance was always his weak point," Megiddo replied, his words seemed to answer Lightning's suspicion.

She put her gun-sword in its holster, "He does seem to think highly of himself, but he also backed up what he said--"

"He could never beat me fairly, that's how it always is."

"So you know him well?"

"We're old acquaintances, nothing more."

She wasn't convinced, "I'm not sure that is all. He seemed to hate you--"

"He always has, hatred born out of jealousy. A basic motivator for seeing me dead."

The tone in his voice was steadily rising, and Lightning felt a slight chill go up her spine, but she managed to put that in the back of her mind. "Not to intrude in your past but...what ever happened to make him hate you?"

Megiddo looked her straight in the eye, "Let's just say that I didn't agree with anything he ever thought was positive."

She felt another chill try to go up her back but she was able to hold it down. Megiddo started to walk away when Lightning said something that made him stop in his tracks, "You're pretty straightforward...Michael."

He turned to face her, unmoved by her last remark, "Where did you get that name?"

"It's on a small gold plate in your coat pocket." She walked up to him slowly, her footsteps making ripples in the water she was walking on, "SeeD Sergeant Michael Nizarhi."

"Snooping while I slept, I presume."

Why did you change your name?"

"And you say I'm straightforward," Megiddo said.

"I don't want to push you, but I would like to know."

He looked at her, and then to the horizon, "Let me ask you, have you ever done something so terrible, that you would regret it for the rest of your life…"

Lightning turned away, having her back to him, and then looked at the same direction he was. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't." Images flashed in her mind, one of a certain girl, with pink hair similar to hers, smiling on a dock back on her home world.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't turn. Megiddo's voice spoke to her in a low, but soft tone, "I see we have a lot more in common than our military background, Lightning."

"Distancing ourselves from our past selves...in order to escape the pain."

"But in the end, we suffered in a way that made it far worse," he said.

His hand left her shoulder, and she turned to face him. Her eyes met his, and then looked at the ground, "I wasn't always called Lightning. I was once called Claire Farron, but after the death of my parents, I tried to be strong for someone precious to me, but like you said, it seemed to make things worse."

Megiddo nodded, "Seems like we have a name change in common as well." He gave a slight chuckle. Lightning looked up at him, an odd look on her face. He continued, "We both need to learn to stick to the present and not live in the past, and plan for the future."

Lightning looked down again, but the words of encouragement had lifted her spirits, and she looked up at him again, smiling.

A bright light came from behind them, a light similar to what Cosmos used to save the two warriors from Xian earlier. The light was high and bright white, and seemed to warm up a downed spirit. Megiddo looked at the light first, "Seems like its time to go."

Lightning, filled with vigor now, nodded, and the two walked to the pillar of light.

Back at the Cerberus Catacombs, Xian stood near the Black Gate of Hell's portal. He stood with his arms crossed, and pinching the bridge of his nose. An annoyed sigh escaped his mouth. "I had to ask Emperor Mataeus for help...and he ridiculed me..." Anger ran through his veins like ice water, and he was not happy with what had happened when he went to Pandemonium. He had come to ask the Emperor for assistance in dealing with Megiddo and Lightning, and Emperor said he was weak for not killing them when Xian had the chance. 'Do not let your petty rivalry with him cloud the fact that you're to destroy him...' The Emperor's words were etched into his mind like an epitaph.

The royal conquer did say he would send someone to 'assist' the student, but he didn't say who. This was beginning to be a nuisance for Xian. His desire to defeat Megiddo with his own hands was being tied down by a man who was more ambitious than even he was.

But Xian smiled, the thought of Megiddo in a pool of his own blood, helpless, and defeated made his heart race. "I'll just be a bit more patient, and see if this person he sent could see if he was a blessing in disguise. And if it turns out to be that way, I'll just dive in and take them all out in a single sweep!"


	7. Airship Graveyard

The light that had served as a gate to the two warriors brought them to a place that was very unfamiliar to them. The area they entered was what appeared to be an old Airship Graveyard. Water was around the ship they were on, old, murky, and disgusting, as well as foul smelling. Other ships surrounded them, all sunk in the water and completely unusable. Lightning couldn't handle the smell, but it wasn't like she could just leave, the portal was gone, and Megiddo seemed to want to go forward no matter if the place looked so derelict. Adding to the horrible conditions in the area was the fact it was very dark, not a good thing if one were walking into a trap.

The male soldier felt the old and moldy boards rattle under his weight. He took his walk gingerly, knowing that adding too much weight to a single spot could very well be disastrous. 'One wrong move and I'll be swimming with the fishes, that is, if the water CAN have fish...'

Lightning took her path carefully as well, trying to stay along on what she considered safe. The ship they were on was in pretty rough shape. None of its once grand features were distinguishable from the rest of it, only the masts were still up, but even those looked like they could fall if you leaned on them. There were three masts, one in the center and one at each end. Megiddo thought to himself, 'I wonder if we could use the masts as bridges...?'

As if she had been reading his mind, Lightning said, "I don't think we can use anything on this ship to continue on. Looks like it's a dead-end."

This surprised Megiddo a little, because if this was Cosmos' gate...the one she sent for them, why would it lead here? Unless it was--!

"A trap!" Lightning yelled, pulling out Blaze-Edge and getting ready for battle.

Megiddo got out both of his swords, coming to him covered in flames, the short blade in his left hand and the bigger blade in his right.

Lightning tried to move closer to Megiddo but he stopped her, "we can't stand together! Otherwise the floor could give out!"

The woman nodded, and slowly made her way across the starboard side, her weapon in gun mode and ready for battle.

She looked around the ship, then slowly made her way across to the railing of the ship, and just as she did a red blur shot straight up from below her!

The 'red blur' flew across the area at amazing speeds, before stopping above the middle mast. Both Megiddo and Lightning looked up and what they saw astounded them. It was a woman, a woman with white angel wings on her back, but she wasn't dressed like an angel. This woman wore a red exotic outfit, and her hands had long red claws. She also wore red thigh high boots that were high heels as well. Long white hair that reached her knees also had little wings out of the top of her head. The look reminded Megiddo of a succubus.

She slowly hovered down to the floor, but she was floating a few inches off the ground once she stopped. She looked over at Lightning then to Megiddo, arms crossed over her chest, "I see...I am to rid the world of you two..." she gave a smug look. "Not so intimidating to me."

"Xian sent you?"

Altima spread her wings, "No. That fool has nothing to do with me."

A black portal appeared beside her, and out stepped Xian, and he didn't look pleased. "Such disrespect, Altima."

She gave him the same look as Megiddo and Lightning, then turned away from him, "I'm here on orders from the Emperor, not yours. I am not obligated to respect you."

Xian despised her already; no one disrespected him and got away from it. However, now was not the time for idle banter. He had bigger fish to fry. "Michael Nizarhi, we meet again."

Megiddo raised his swords, "Xavier Friedl. You made this trap?"

Xian's chakram materialized on his right forearm, "I wanted to finish what I started last time. I just hate unfinished business."

"You got me here, let's do it then."

Xian shook his head and sighed, "one on one."

Megiddo shook his head, "Need a stacked deck to be comfortable?"

"Imbecile! That was before, and this is now! I will defeat you with my own hands and show all those who ever doubted me who is the stronger of the two of us!" Xian's anger seemed to shake the area, a large black pool appeared under the four warrior's feet. The floor began to glow a bright purple light. Lightning shielded her eyes, as did Megiddo, and the light soon became so bright that everything went white.

When Lightning lowered her arm, Xian and Megiddo were gone.


End file.
